Turkey eager to use local currencies in trade - FM

Turkey is eager to use local currencies in bilateral trade deals to counter efforts by the U.S., Turkey’s foreign minister said late Friday

"We are so keen actually to use local currencies in our bilateral trade, not only between Turkey and Venezuela but also between Turkey and other countries," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference in Caracas with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza.

Cavusoglu said since the U.S. administration has been using the dollar as a tool to attack other countries’ economies, many countries have been trying to use local currencies in trade.

He added that Turkey is not against the currency of any country, but currencies should not be used as instruments to attack other nations' economies.

Cavusoglu said Turkey also became a target recently and that is why it experienced fluctuations in its currency.

"But we have been standing very strong and taking all measures to make our economy more stable," he said.